The Mind’s Eye and Poetry

April 8, 2014 — 8 Comments

Poetry is an expression of wonder.  Painting a scene with words is one way to keep a vision eternal.  I can see the Asyrians come down like a wolf on the fold when I hear this poem.  The colorful battlefield Lord Byron creates poetically lasts forever.  He was not at the battle, but he has made it part of our cultural memory.  Each of us has experiences that are unique to us, that only we can express.  Poetry is a vehicle for these stories or impressions to reach the mind’s eye of the reader.  If we do not tell those tales or color in the details of the scenes we have seen, they will not be told.  A sense of wonder and willingness to write are the only tools needed.  There are good reasons to write poetry:

• Vocabulary can be used in new ways and expanded
• Creativity  and self expression can be enhanced
• Memories can be savored and expressed
• Places and events can be chronicled
• Emotional elements can be exposed and refined
• Personalities can be developed artistically

Consider celebrating Poetry Month this April by writing some of your own.  You will not meet the poet within until you try.  Tomorrow, April 9, 2014, at noon  you can join NPR on twitter writing a collaborative poem.  Using the hashtag #CSPoetry contribute a line to the poem.  The Code Switch poem will be presented in the stream when completed.  You just don’t know what will happen next.  You only have to think of one good line.  Go for it, Gentle Readers.  Do some gentle writing.